CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA - Litton Marine Systems and Tokimec today announced a strategic alliance for development, marketing, sales and service of marine equipment. Under the alliance, the two companies will undertake a cooperative program for developing and marketing products worldwide.

"We are very pleased to announce this cooperative program with Tokimec," stated Dr. Clark Graham, president of Litton Marine Systems. "It brings together the resources of two very strong marine technology organizations with a long history of cooperative endeavors, and we are confident that the relationship will continue to grow and strengthen in the coming years."

"As seen in the remarkable technological innovation and the rapid industrial reorganization, just in front of the 21st century we are in a world of drastic change. The marine equipment industry, which we are involved in, is not an exception," said Mr. Hideaki Katsuki, president of Tokimec Inc. "Our ultimate goal is to provide our customers with reasonable products meeting the needs for safe navigation and labor saving as well as a protection of the global environment. One of the best approaches to this goal can be an international collaboration between distinguished world-class companies. In this sense, we consider that our partnership with Litton Marine Systems this time is of great importance and we are very excited about it and look forward with joy and expectation. In our partnership, we would like to share each other's technologies and know-how, making the most of companies' capabilities. I am sure that such a partnership will accelerate the development of the two companies and our customers will certainly welcome it."

Established in 1896 in Tokyo, Tokimec Inc. is a $ 450 million diversified technology company with over 1,500 employees. With the corporate themes of "Qualities Living up to Customers' Reliance" and "Creation of New Values", the company provides their products for a wide range of markets, such as aircraft, ship, industrial machinery, measurement equipment and information and communication systems. Especially in the marine navigational equipment market, the company is a pioneer keeping good reputations as a leading maker. The partnership with Litton Marine Systems for navigational equipment goes back to 1917 when the partnership was established with Sperry Marine. The company is also tackling with the needs for highly advanced information systems which are being developed in various fields, providing transmitter-receiver units and various modules for cellular phones and other radio information communication equipment, based on the technologies accumulated through the development of airborne microwave equipment.

Litton Marine Systems Inc. (LMS) is a subsidiary of Litton Industries Inc. LMS was formed from the consolidation of Sperry Marine (Charlottesville, Virginia, USA), Decca Marine (New Malden, UK) and C. Plath (Hamburg, Germany). LMS manufactures and markets products under the Sperry, Decca and C. Plath brand names. With offices in 19 countries and authorized service depots in more than 300 locations worldwide, LMS provides "One Source" for marine navigation, communication and information systems, products and service.

Litton Industries, headquartered in Woodland Hills, California, is a $4.4 billion diversified technology company with over 40,000 employees worldwide. The company is a leader in navigation; guidance and control; electronic warfare; command, control and communications systems; information technology and shipbuilding and overhaul for government and commercial markets worldwide. Litton's Ingalls and Avondale shipyards together make up the largest builder of non-nuclear ships for the U.S. Navy and other customers.